Kevin Nolan says his team were fully deserving of their 1-0 win at Brentford in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Jon Stead’s superb second-half strike secured the victory for the Magpies and the manager was thrilled with the output from his players.

“I am delighted with the performance and it warranted the result,” he said.

“You have to ride your luck when you come to quality teams and those sides who are above you and we did have that little bit of luck, but when you have the attitude, application and dedication to keep a clean sheet, then you earn it.

“I am delighted for the boys because they have not been given the credit they deserve for what they have done in such a short space of time.

“Hopefully we can continue on that path and I hope they all go away and enjoy this day because they don’t happen very often in your career.

“They are going to experience highs and lows, but this is one of the highs. I am thrilled for every one of them.”

The manager was thrilled to see Stead on the scoresheet as the matchwinner for the second successive game and reiterated his belief that the 34-year-old does not get the credit he deserves.

“Steady’s best performance have been against Scunthorpe, Bristol Rovers and Brentford – all top sides. He has shown how much quality he has,” said Nolan.

“He hasn’t got the goals he would have liked this year but his contributions towards our performances and our success have been vital.

“He’s been magnificent and I’m delighted to be talking about him for once because he becomes an unsung hero.

“Everyone expects him to be all about goals – and he has been – but it’s not been him scoring them, he’s been creating them and had a major influence.”